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Daily App: Mactracker is a handy pocket guide to all things Mac
It's hard to believe that the Macintosh is 30 years old. To learn more about the venerable line of computers, you must make room on your iPhone, iPad or Mac for the Mactracker app from Ian Page. Mactracker is THE reference guide for the Mac, providing specifications and support details for every Apple Macintosh computer ever made. We've covered Mactracker over the past decade as it evolved from a Mac to an iPhone and then an iPad app, but on the anniversary of the Macintosh, it's worth taking another look. The tracker continues to be updated with new model information and updated support statuses for now obsolete models. It also tracks OS X and iOS versions as well as peripherals like Apple mice, keyboards and more. If it has an Apple label on it, it's likely in the Mactracker database. While the iOS version is a handy pocket reference, the OS X version of Mactracker has a few extra goodies like a "My Models" list that stores the models you own and tracks their warranty status. There's also a compare feature that allows you to compare the specifications or the differences between several Mac models at the same time. Mactracker is available for free from the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store.
Daily App: Simbol is your cheat sheet for universal symbols and their HTML codes
Anyone who has dabbled in HTML quickly learned most of the tags necessary for laying out pages using the markup language. The most challenging ones to remember are for the lesser-used options like symbols. If you find yourself always looking up the HTML codes for these uncommon symbols, then you should check out the new Simbol app from Cultured Pixel. Simbol has a plain UI, but its power lies in its extensive library of HTML symbols including math symbols, Greek symbols, ISO 8859 characters and Apple-specific symbols like command and option. You can search for a symbol and easily copy the HTML code from the app into your document. There's also an equation editor that allows you to create a string of characters and copy all of them to another document. This latter feature is especially helpful for users who work with math. Simbol is a niche app for the person who is knee-deep in HTML on a regular basis. It's a simple, but effective tool that does exactly what it claims to do -- it gives you an easy way to find the HTML code for obscure symbols. The Simbol app is available for free from the iOS App Store. The app is compatible with the iPhone and requires iOS 7.0 or later. There are no ads or in-app purchases.
Daily App: Snapverse allows you to create video Selfiokes you can share
Tired of sending selfies and want to create something more entertaining? Then you should check out Snapverse, an app that allows you to record 20-second video selfies that are accompanied by music. The big draw of Snapverse is its licensed music library. Though small, the app's music library allows you to create a short music video without running afoul of copyright laws. You can use this music and not worry about your video being pulled down by YouTube. Snapverse allows you to create snaps, which are 20-second video clips accompanied by music. The video-creation process is easy -- just select your music, add your video from the Photo Library or record your video live and share. When you are recording live, the music plays in the background so you can sync your filming to the beat. A play/pause feature lets you stop and mix things up by changing your scenery or your subject. Because these clips are only 20 seconds long, you don't spend a lot of time creating and editing a snap. It's quick and easy. For those who enjoy singing, there's also a karaoke snap that records you as you sing along with song lyrics. This Selfioke feature overlays lyrics on your screen allowing you to read the lyrics and watch yourself as you record. It's a simple process -- press play to start the music and record yourself as you sing. You can trim the final clip to capture your best singing moments as well as adjust the vocals to allow either your voice or the track's vocals to shine through. When you are satisfied with your snap, you can upload it to the Snapverse network. You can share any snap, including those from others, via Facebook, Twitter or email. You also can grab a direct link. Snaps can be viewed on the web or in the Snapverse app. You do need an account to create and share a snap. You can choose to create one using your email or sign in with your Facebook account. When you create a new account, you join the Snapverse community, where you can view other snaps, favorite snaps and follow other users. You can also respond to snaps with your own snap called a snapback. In a snapback, you can record your own video message or select from a library of pre-recorded clips. It's commenting with a video focus. Snapverse is worth checking out if you enjoy expressing yourself using videos instead of text. The app is available from the iOS App Store for free.
Daily App: Farmstand is your guide to your local farmer's markets
At least where I live, there's a growing movement to buy produce locally at farmer's markets. As small as my town is, it still hosts a weekly farmer's market that runs all year round. If you want to buy locally, but don't know where to start, then you should check out Farmstand. Farmstand from Mostly Brothers makes it easy to find nearby farmer's markets using your location. The app pulls up information about each event providing you with a map and other details about its time and location. If there is a long list of farmer's markets in your area, you can sort by location or by next open time. Users are encouraged to share information about the farmer's market by posting up pictures, sharing deals and more. These posts appear on the farmer's market listing within the app and are open for the public to see. Those who join the Farmstand community can comment on these posts and like them. They also can follow other users. Farmstand has a pleasing, easy-to-use design. The app pulled up my location and quickly showed me a list of local markets. There is only one in the area, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it included in the app. The layout is intuitive, allowing you to find all the details about the market without having to hunt and peck through the app. Farmstand is available for free from the iOS App Store. It's a must-have for those who are into farm-fresh food.
Daily App: HealthyOut helps you find nutritious meals when dining out
Eating out doesn't have to blow away your diet. Save your waistline and use an app like HealthyOut, which will help you find a nutritious meal even in the greasy burger joint down the block. HealthyOut allows you to customize your menu options based upon your eating plan. There are 20 plans that range from a basic balanced diet to the paleo diet and everything in between. You can select one plan or multiple plans if your eating habits overlap. You can even select fast food results, if you don't mind the occasional stop at Mickey D's. Don't worry if you change your mind; you can always open the settings and adjust the meal plans as needed. You need an account to use HealthyOut and you can sign up for one using your email or your Facebook account. The sign-up process is painless and can be completed on the phone. HealthyOut uses your phone's location to search for a meal at a local restaurant. You can customize your search based on cuisine type, ingredients and other factors like how you will get the food (delivery, take out or dine in). When you have found matching meals, you can view them in a list of meals or a list of restaurants. There's also a handy option for viewing the results on a map. Each meal includes some basic nutrition information about the dish and details about the restaurant where it can be found. These meals can then be shared with friends or saved for future use. The UI is arranged nicely, making it easy to go from search to meal to restaurant phone number in just a few taps. HealthyOut is available for free from the iOS App Store. There are no ads and no in-app purchases, but it does require an account. It is compatible with the iPhone and requires iOS 5 or later.
Daily App: Winebot is your personal assistant for wine
Clueless about wine, but want to learn more so you can enjoy its taste and many health benefits? Then you should check Winebot from Jonathan Burns as it was developed just for you. Winebot is your personal assistant for wine. First and foremost, it'll help you find the perfect wine based on color, meal, taste, price and more. Once you follow the steps and fill in the criteria about a wine, Winebot will recommend a type of wine specifically for you. The recommended choices are not specific brands, but categories of wine. For example, I had US$30 to spend on a crisp and refreshing, red wine to pair with a red meat dinner. WineBot recommended a Pinot Noir as its first choice, with a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Montepulciano as a backup. Once you've received your recommendation, you can add the wine to your cellar with the name of the wine and the year included in your record. If you are all done, you can hit the "Thanks! All Done" button and go back to the main screen. Other options in Winebot include the ability to manage your own wine cellar within the app. As noted above, the app allows you to add a wine to your cellar following a recommendation. You also can choose to "Open or Save?" a wine from the main screen. When you add a wine manually, you have the ability to enter the year, varietal, cost and name. Winebot will survey your new bottle of wine and tell you whether you should store it or drink it based on its age, variety, etc. Winebot is definitely geared for the new wine enthusiast who is learning about wines and is building a growing collection. Though the recommendations are helpful, I would love to see more information about the wines instead of just recommendation. Recommendations are helpful, but they don't tell you why you should buy that wine. What's distinctive about Pinot Noir? What makes a Muscat a Muscat? And why would one drink that particular wine with a fish-focused meal? Winebot is available for US$0.99 from the iOS App Store.
Daily App: Plan & Buy keeps track of how much you've purchased from your list
Shopping list apps are a dime a dozen in the iOS App Store, but sometimes you find one that stands out in one way or another. Plan & Buy from Aleksandr Zdorovets is one of those apps. In comparison to some of the shopping list heavyweights, like Grocery Gadget and Grocery IQ, Plan & Buy is a fairly basic shopping list app. It allows you to enter the items you need to buy, along with their price, quantity, units and category. Be sure to enter the quantity in this edit screen as there is no other way to increase or decrease the quantity of what you need to buy. You can edit it again to change the quantity, but it's easier if you get it right on the first try. Plan & Buy requires you to enter a category when enter a new item. The categories cover most of your grocery purchases, but the category list is fixed and cannot be changed to suit your needs. This is inconvenient if you want to use the app for shopping for something else, like clothes. There is no support for coupons, aisles or stores, which also are major drawbacks to the app. The big benefit to using Plan & Buy is how it tracks your purchases. The app has a progress bar that displays the percentage of goods that are marked off as having been purchased. You also can view at a glance the percentage of purchased items with a price (labeled in green) and those without a price (labeled in orange). Though it may seem like a little feature, I found the progress bar to be incredibly useful, especially with shopping lists that contain items that you buy over time. I used it to track a list of items that I needed for a birthday party. It was an eye-opener when I looked at the list a few days before the party and realized I only had bought 30 percent of the stuff that I needed for the shindig. Plan & Buy isn't robust by current shopping list standards, but it's useful for folks who have longer lists that require multiple shopping trips over time. Though the categories are food-oriented, you can still use the app for any list as long as you don't mind using "Other" for the categories. Plan & Buy isn't as polished as other competitors in its field, but it has promise. It won't find a permanent place on my phone just yet, but it's on my radar to see if it improves in subsequent versions. Plan & Buy is available in the iOS App Store for US$0.99. It's compatible with the iPhone and the iPad. There are no ads or in-app purchases.
Daily App: TwoGrand helps you watch what you eat by photo journaling your meals
TwoGrand is a food photojournaling app that inspires you to eat better by literally watching what you eat. It's meant to gently persuade you to improve the quality of foods you eat using the power of images and the help of other people who share similar goals. A picture paints a thousand words, which is why TwoGrand is so effective at helping you improve your eating habits. The app prompts you to journal each meal, using a photo to record what you eat. You can then review your meals over time using this visual record. Depending on how you currently eat, the results may be shocking. You may not think you eat a lot of McDonald's until you see the fries and the Egg McMuffins show up in your timeline every few days. TwoGrand has a social side that matches you with other people who have your body type, lifestyle or food preferences. You can connect with these other people to give and receive encouragement as you try to improve your eating habits and lose weight. I'll say this about social eating -- it's one thing to monitor your food intake inside your own bubble; it's whole new level of accountability if you have others viewing everything you eat. TwoGrand is an interesting tool to help you improve your eating habits and lose weight. It moves you away from the calorie focus you find in other health and fitness apps and uses images to reveal the quality of the food that you eat. The one drawback to TwoGrand (and other fitness apps for that matter) is that you have to be proactive in using it for it to be effective. For a visual person like me, the photo log of my meals makes a stronger impression than a calorie count. I don't cringe at seeing a surplus of calories in MyFitnessPal, but I did shudder when I saw bacon in my timeline three days in a row. If you want to check it out, you can do so with minimal cost as TwoGrand is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Daily App Review: Nudge gathers all your health and fitness stats into one app
Once you start tracking your fitness, you'll quickly realize how easy it is to get swamped by all the different fitness apps. Do it long enough, and you'll have an app for running, another for cycling, one for tracking your weight and so on. If you want to stop the madness, then you should check out Nudge. Nudge gathers data from these other apps, leaving you with one app and one value that you need to track. When you first launch Nudge, you must create an account or login with your Facebook credentials. Once you have your account in place, you can set up the app to sync with your other apps like Runkeeper, MapMyFitness and Moves. These three are supported in the current version (v. 3.0) with support for additional apps coming in the future. Besides app syncing, Nudge also has manual controls that allow you to enter your fitness- and health-related data directly into the app. Like most good fitness apps, you can log your water consumption, food servings, active minutes and hours of sleep. The logs are not as detailed as some competing fitness app like MyFitnessPal, where you can break down each meal. In Nudge, you can add servings of fruit, veggies, grains, protein and so on. When you look back, you can view the number of fruit servings you eat, but can't specify that you ate two apples and two oranges worth 400 calories total. Nudge makes up for its lack of detail with some interesting parameters like the ability to set your energy level to "Zombie" and the option to log no-no's stuff like cigarettes and alcohol. As you compile data, Nudge will do some number crunching and give you a Nudge Factor, which is meant to track your overall fitness. The closer you are to 110, the better. Along with a number is a pie chart that gives you a visual overview of how each category contributes to your overall fitness. I run a lot, but don't drink a ton of water, so my chart was heavy on the activity side and low on the hydration. There's a social component to Nudge that allows you to join clubs, which include other people with similar interests as you. The clubs provide support and encouragement as you walk along the path to better health. The community is still growing, so there is not a ton of interaction. Get your friends to sign up and join a club if you want a very active social component. Nudge has been around for almost a year and has been steadily updated by the developer. It's an interesting way to gauge your fitness that takes into account more than just steps. I know from experience that I tend to focus on my steps and overlook other aspects of my health like sleep and water consumption, so it was helpful to get a different look at my fitness. Nudge is available for free and is a universal app that works on both the iPhone and iPad. There are no ads, but the app does offer perks from partner brands, which means some of your anonymous data is accessible to other companies. The developer confirmed that "they don't share an individual's data with brands, but they do segment users based on things like location and score so they can deliver appropriate perks." You'll have to decide if you are comfortable with this aspect of the app before you take a leap and install it.
Daily App Review: FitYou lets you challenge your friends to exercise more or else
One of the enjoyable aspects of owning a Fitbit is sharing your workout stats with your friends and family. I don't share to boast or brag, but to encourage everyone to stay fit and likewise, for them to encourage me. Not everyone owns a Fitbit and not everyone is doing activities that are logged by a tracker, so this is where the new fitness app FitYou steps in. FitYou lets you challenge friends and family to see who can rack up the most points in a set time period. It can be one day, one week or up to two weeks. The app works with a variety of exercises, allowing a runner to challenge a cyclist or swimmer. Each challenge can have a bet, requiring you to up your game or have to pay out a favor when you lose. FitYou allows runners to compete against yoga masters because the app uses its own point system to score activities. Basically, you add an activity and the app assigns it a point value based on its intensity and duration. The longer or harder you workout, the more points you will earn. It all evens out with a 10-minute, one-mile run equaling 20 minutes of yoga. You can set up one-on-one, one versus a group or a team versus a team challenge. A chat feature allows you to talk smack to your friends to get them off the couch and onto the pavement. If you want to train alone, you can even do a solo challenge based on the number of points you want to reach each day. FitYou has an easy-to-use interface. After creating an account (you need a FitYou account or a Facebook account to login), the main screen shows your challenges, your activities and your score. You can easily add new activities and create new challenges right from this main screen. Everything is laid out nicely, which allows you to get up and running very quickly. The FitYou app is available for free from the iOS App Store. The app is compatible with the iPhone. There are no ads and no in-app purchases.
Review: Baby's Day allows you to track feeding and other vital newborn stats
It's hard taking care of a newborn -- long hours, little sleep and the never-ending cycle of feeding, sleeping and changing diapers. If you are a new mom, do yourself a favor and download Baby's Day from Anne Halsall. Baby's Day is designed for moms of newborns who need to track all those little details that ensure your baby is growing as he or she should. The first thing you'll likely use after you launch the app is its timer, which lets you specify which side you are nursing on so you can keep your milk supply even. Before you start nursing your baby, just hit the big "Left" or "Right" start button (even with your arms full of baby, the buttons are easy to press) and the timer will start ticking off the seconds. When you are done feeding, hit stop to log the session. No more looking at a clock and trying to remember when you started and when you stopped, as the app does that for you. The timer can also be used for pumping, you just get to select from "Left," "Right" or "Both" to keep track of your pumping session. The highlight of Baby Day's is its logging feature that displays each nursing session, each pumping session, every diaper change and more in a running list. The log is more than just a list. It includes important details like the amount of milk produced while pumping, the time spent nursing and whether a diaper was wet or dry. All items in the list can be edited as needed. I especially like the icons, which are based on the international symbols. They make it easy to distinguish between a left and right nursing session, a left/right or both pumping session and so on. It's these little details that are so useful, but often overlooked in similar apps. Baby's Day also has a useful "Trends" view that gives you a week-long overview of your baby's schedule. The color-coded activities allow you to quickly see how often your newborn is eating, how frequently you are changing diapers and so on. It's not as detailed as the log, but it's helpful to see the big picture. Sometimes you pick up on parts of your baby's behavior that you would miss if you were only looking at a running log. Last but not least is a baby section that tracks your little one's vital statistics like height, weight and age. Oh and if you have twins or triplets, no worries! The app will let you track more than one baby. All these features are packaged into an app that is visually pleasing and easy to use, which is exactly what you need as a new mom. You already have a lot on your plate and learning how to use a complicated app should not be an added burden. You can download Baby's Day from the iOS App Store for US$2.99. It's a must-have if you are a new mom or a mom-to-be.
Daily App Review: HeartRate+ helps you breathe properly so you can relax
HeartRate + moves beyond your typical heart rate monitor app by adding in breathing exercises designed to lower your heart rate and lower your stress level. HeartRate+ works just like your typical iPhone-based heart rate monitor. You place your finger on the camera on the back of the device and allow the app to calculate your heart rate. While the app is recording your heart rate, you are supposed to breathe slowly and rhythmically using the visual guide in the app. If you are performing the breathing exercises properly, the app claims you should see your heart fluctuate slightly, increasing when you inhale and decreasing when you exhale in a principle called coherence. The app graphs this variation in heart rate and calculates your coherence score. The higher the coherence score, the better you are breathing. I'm not sure I buy into the whole coherence theory of breathing, but it is well known that deep breathing techniques will lower your heart rate, decrease your blood pressure and relieve stress. This is where the HeartRate+ app excels. It guides you through some basic breathing techniques and allows you to see the positive effect on your heart rate. You have to be patient with the app and keep your finger still as any movement will throw off the heart rate measurements. If you can get a comfortable position and have a few minutes to spare, then the breathing techniques really work well to help you relax. You can download HeartRate + for US$4.99 from the iOS App Store.
Toca Lab offers completely unscientific, unrealistic fun
Following loosely in the footsteps of other "element creation" games like Doodle God, Toca Lab lets you discover various substances to fill out a periodic table. But unlike any game before it, Toca Lab presents everything in full 3D, giving each element a hilarious personality, temperament and even a voice. You start out with just one element -- the element "P," or Phosphorus, to be exact -- and you must use it to discover others. Finding new elements is as simple as playing around with the various lab equipment at your disposal. Taking Phosphorus and heating it up on a burner produces Nitrogen gas, element "N" on the periodic table. This has no basis in actual science of course, but it's an extremely fun and rewarding way to fill out the table. Not all elements respond to all experiments, however, so finding new substances quickly becomes a matter of exciting trial and error. Sometimes elements respond in ways other than simply becoming a different element, such as certain gases turning into thunderous storm clouds when exposed to electricity. This won't help you fill out the table, but finding out how certain elements react to heat, cold, electricity or chemicals still offers the excitement of discovery. In all, there are 118 elements to discover and experiment with, which should keep you busy for a good long while. However, it's worth noting that the app is facing a good deal of criticism due to its extremely unscientific take on the periodic table. Many user reviews call foul, claiming that the app could mislead kids into thinking that freezing an element, for example, can turn it into another element. No, Toca Lab doesn't offer even a slightly realistic look at the elements that make up our world, but as a game, it's downright fantastic. For US$2.99 you'll get hours of charming fun, as long as you can suspend your disbelief.
Next-Numbers: A fun game from the Star Walk geniuses at Vito Technology
It always surprises me when a developer decides to do something totally outside the box. That's the case with Vito Technology, the company that develops such great educational and science-oriented apps as Star Walk, Dino Walk, Solar Walk and more. It's taken a big jump to games (the most popular category on the App Store) with Next-Numbers (introductory price of US$0.99), a fun new game that will have you tapping your iPhone or iPad screen with a smile on your face. So, why will you be tapping like a fiend? The idea behind Next-Numbers is that you tap numbers in sequence in one of two ways. First, there's the Blitz mode, where you tap through numbers until a pre-set time is up. The second mode is called Zen, where you are timed while tapping a pre-set group of numbers. Those numbers are randomly displayed in a number of geometric shapes, big and small, that appear on the screen. The app and its icon are designed for iOS 7 -- in fact, the icon features a large, colorful "7" in the center. The screen is always bright white -- if I had one wish, it's that Next-Numbers had a "dark mode" for playing in low-light conditions. The app shows up in portrait mode on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and that's where you'll choose your difficulty settings, the game mode and more. Tipping your iOS device to landscape mode simply rotates the numbers in the game. Next-Numbers uses Game Center to let you see how you stack up to friends or the world in general, and there's also a progress bar that displays your progress in concentration, speed of reaction and visual memory. When you feel that you've mastered the easy level, just slide up the controls from the bottom of the screen and select medium, hard or expert levels for an extra challenge. I found the easy level to be a cinch to master, at which time I bumped myself up to the medium level that adds more numbers. Suddenly, my ability to find numbers went from really fast to "OMG, am I this stupid?" Continued use of the game seemed to train my brain to find and remember where the numbers were so I could be faster in the next round. It's not just playing against the clock; it's brain training. Sure, it's brain training for a really odd set of circumstances -- recognizing numbers randomly placed on a screen -- but I've got to believe that playing games like Next-Numbers or word games have to be good for the old gray matter. Who's Next-Numbers targeted towards? Those folks like myself who aren't into RPGs or side-scrollers, but instead love a good brain-teaser. I think that people who are fans of Luminosity will find Next-Numbers to be a winner. I look forward to seeing what's next from Vito Technology -- perhaps it can leverage its newfound game expertise, mix it with a little bit of the brilliance it has shown with Star Walk and really come out with something incredible.
Daily iPhone App: Ridge Racer Slipstream slides in sideways
The Real Racing series has long been the dominant racing simulation experience for iOS devices, but when it comes to arcade racing, Ridge Racer has long been king across many platforms. Ridge Racer Slipstream is the latest title for iOS, following Accelerated's release in 2009, and the game takes full advantage of the power of today's technology. Looking nearly as good as a full-fledged console release, the first thing you'll notice about Slipstream is how gorgeous it is. The game runs silky smooth on the iPhone 5s, and everything from the roadway to the reflections on your speed machine is incredibly detailed for a mobile racer. That same attention to detail has been paid to the game's deep car-customization system, allowing you to upgrade virtually every part of your ride. You can flesh out your engine performance, add additional nitrous, swap out your wheels or even add flashy vinyl decals. Purchases are made using in-game currency, which you obtain from winning races, or you can open your real-world wallet and buy some credits. As is almost always the case, taking the shortcut feels a bit like cheating, and you'll get more satisfaction out of the game by using your actual race winnings to purchase upgrades. The racing itself is fast and fluid, but if you're looking for anything resembling realistic car handling, you're going to be disappointed. Cars feel very floaty, and the game places a huge emphasis on drifting -- so much so that completing long drifts replenishes your nitro reserves. If you're a Ridge Racer veteran, this will come as no surprise, but if you're new to the series, it may be a painful learning curve. One thing that is somewhat disappointing about Slipstream is that it doesn't support physical controllers... at least not yet. The game would be a perfect fit for the many new controller accessories popping up for the iPhone, so I'll cross my fingers that developer Namco Bandai decides to add that feature in a future update. For US$2.99, Ridge Racer Slipstream is a gorgeous racer that lets you suspend reality in favor of white-knuckle thrills, and if you're willing to put in the work to unlock some of the game's more advanced racing machines, it should have a good bit of longevity.
Daily iPhone App: The Walk adds some danger and intrigue to your daily routine
You may remember Six to Start for its smash fitness app, Zombies, Run!. The app combines running with a narrated storyline that allows you to play the role of a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. The game studio, along with Naomi Alderman, is back with a follow-up thriller, The Walk, that tracks your steps and tells you a story as you walk. In The Walk, you star as the survivor of an explosion on a London train. You unwittingly end up with a package that could save the world, but you need to get it out of the city. As you walk in real life, you will move about the city's map avoiding police and following the voice instructions from your faithful guide. Walking also unlocks additional audio clips and allows you to gather collectibles on the map, both of which flesh out the rest of the story. The Walk is less immersive than its Zombies, Run! counterpart, but equally compelling. Unlike Zombies, Run!, which talks to you throughout your run, The Walk is meant for you to go for a walk, pull out your phone to find some collectibles, unlock a few audio clips and then move on. It's great for people who walk to work or school or walk for pleasure and want some rewards for the time they spend on their feet. Just like Zombies, Run!, the storyline sucks you in and encourages you to get moving, even if it's just for a short jaunt. The Walk is available for US$2.99 from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPhone App: Grand Theft Auto San Andreas is just as fantastic as you remember
Oftentimes, older video games are looked upon with rose-colored glasses thanks to the magic, memory-altering powers of nostalgia. I was a bit worried that today's release of the PlayStation 2 classic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- which, upon its release in 2004, quickly became one of the most popular games of all time -- wouldn't be quite as fantastic as history would have us believe. Fortunately, that's not at all the case. Like the rest of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, San Andreas is set in a fictional region modeled heavily after real-life counterparts. In this case, you'll be exploring various cities and suburbs drawn from the cultural memory of early '90s Southern California and Las Vegas. The story is long and winding, touching on everything from gang rivalries and police corruption to the street car-tuning scene. Just like in the original console release, there's really nothing you can't do within the confines of the game's setting. Want to grab a burger, hit the gym, start a police chase or simply take a scenic drive? Go for it. San Andreas is yours to explore, and it looks fantastic on a Retina display. The game is compatible with iPhones starting with the 4s, and tablets starting with the iPad 2, so there's a chance you may not be playing this on a Retina device. But if you are, you're in for a treat. The buildings, vehicles, foliage and just about everything else look quite good and remarkably sharp. Unfortunately, the character models -- which, keep in mind, were designed for the PlayStation 2 -- can appear a bit awkward at times, and this is only magnified by the HD resolution we are now treated to. This isn't anywhere close to being a deal breaker, but you may occasionally get a laugh out of a strange gait or goofy facial expression. Music is another high point, with classic '90s tunes filling the fictional radio stations. There are almost too many songs to even keep track of, but if, for some reason, you want to listen to your own tunes, you can do that as well through the game's custom playlist feature. San Andreas offers a few different control options, including virtual analog sticks, virtual digital buttons and so on. The game also features MFi controller support for devices like the Logitech PowerShell and MOGA Ace, though I haven't yet been able to test this feature (we'll be running some comparisons soon, so stay tuned). The virtual analog method feels the most comfortable of the options available, and with a little practice, it's easy to replicate the feeling of using a proper gamepad. Whether you're a seasoned GTA veteran or you've never touched the franchise before, GTA San Andreas is the perfect place to start, and it's practically flawless on iOS. The game is US$6.99, which is a bargain considering you could play the game for well upwards of 50 hours.
Daily iPhone App: Hailo is a no-fuss way to hail a cab
Trying to catch a cab in London can be a challenging feat. That's why I've started testing out the Hailo app. Instead of standing around for 20 minutes, I had a black cab respond to my e-hail via the Hailo app. It arrived five minutes after I told the app I wanted to be picked up. It's also why Hailo is today's Daily iPhone App. Hailo began in London in 2011 and helped usher in the age of e-hailing. The app is simple enough to set up. You download it from the App Store and create a free account by entering your name, email and phone number. A code is then sent to your phone via text message to confirm you are the owner. To use the app, you simply drag and drop a pin representing your location or wherever it is you want to be picked up. By default, the pin is set at your current location, but you can move it anywhere on the map. As you place the pin, the estimated time of the closet cab to you appears. If you'd like to hail the cab, simply tap the "Pick Me Up Here" button and a message will be sent to the driver, who can then accept the hail and travel to you. As the cab nears your location, you can track it in real time on the map, and when it's one minute away, Hailo will send you a push notification so you can be ready. Paying for the cab is simple enough. If you want, you can save your credit card details within the app and pay with the touch of a button. However, Hailo doesn't require you to do this. If you want to pay the driver in cash, that will work just fine. After your cab ride ends, you'll get a receipt emailed to you and have the chance to leave feedback about your driver on his Hailo profile. The app is a lifesaver in a big city like London, where trying to hail a cab can be a nightmare, and calling a cab company to come and pick you up is hit or miss as you never know if the cab will actually arrive. Though Hailo started out as London-only, it's also now in Dublin, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and trying out betas in New York City and other locales. Hailo isn't without controversy, however. There are lawsuits to try to stop the service in New York City, and in London, multiple Hailo cab drivers told me that since Hailo raised its minimum fee to £10, many users have stopped using the app. The cab drivers told me they knew this because as soon as the limit was raised from £5 to £10, the number of jobs they got through the Hailo app went down 80 percent. What's more annoying is that at busy times, Hailo sets the minimum cab fare to £15 - something London's transport authority is looking into the legality of, as the minimum fare normally hailed cabs can charge is only £2.40. Local transport laws aside, however, Hailo is a great app if you live in one of the larger cities the company operates in. Hailo is a free download in the App Store.
Daily iPhone App: Snapguide helps you dye your hair, fix your car or chef up a great meal
The next time you need help to accomplish a specific task, it might be worth your while to check out Snapguide. Not only are there hundreds of different tutorials available for DIYers, Snapguide also allows you to easily create your own guide for someone else to follow. Snapguide is a companion app for the Snapguide.com website, which is home to thousands of guides on everything from cooking, fitness, tech and more. Though you can browse the site using mobile Safari, the iOS app provides a much better experience than the mobile website. You get niceties like search and categories, and you don't have to deal with the "Download the Snapguide app" nags in the mobile web version. The Snapguide app is an all-in-one solution that allows you to view full Snapguide tutorials without ever leaving the app. You can browse through the guides by category or search for a specific topic. Unlike most apps that require a login at launch, you can search or browse through guides without a Snapguide account. Each guide is broken down into steps that include text, photos or even video. At the beginning of the guide, there is a list of the items required (i.e., the ingredients) as well as a list of the number of steps in the guide. You can skip to any one of these steps via a convenient grid of numbered thumbnails representing each step. If you like a specific guide, you can flag it as a favorite (free account signup required) or choose from several options to share a link to the guide. There are also comments, allowing you to chime in with your own advice or read others' opinions. Besides reading guides, the Snapguide app also allows you to create your own guide using photos, videos and written instructions. Snapguide "guides" you through the creation process, allowing you to assemble and upload the final project up to its website using your iPhone. I found Snapguide to be one of those apps that I open up on a regular basis when I have some free time. I regularly scan the latest guides and mark those I want to check out later. It is convenient to have on the iPhone, especially when you are in a store searching for ingredients for a guide. Though not as portable as the iPhone version, Snapguide really comes into its own on the iPad. Instructions are easier to read on the large display and the images and videos really stand out. Snapguide is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPhone App: Radar Cast helps you stay on top of the weather
I live in Maine, which means I get the sun before everyone else, and the weather usually later. This past week is a great example. Winter storm Dion has allowed me to track the storm's progress as it made its way from the panhandle of Texas all the way to the easternmost part of my home state. My app of choice to follow this storm was Radar Cast Elite from WeatherSphere. The radar app is chock-full of features, but the most important one is its past and future radar images. The app shows a storm's movement by including both previous radar images and future ones to predict where a storm is headed. It plays these images back in a loop, allowing you to see the track of a storm. You can change the duration of time displayed in the radar loop as well as the loop speed to fine-tune what you see. These past and FutureCast radar images provide an excellent look at your weather conditions right now. They also show how conditions will change in the immediate future. Besides its convenient radar images, the app has a handful of other helpful features. There are weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, hurricane tracks, real-time lightning strikes and more. The app can even show storm start and stop times on the map, which, along with the weather-based driving directions, will help you plan your daily travels around hazardous conditions. RadarCast is great for weather aficionados looking for another radar app to add their collection. It's also perfect for folks who want to monitor the weather in real time so they can adjust their plans accordingly. Radar Cast Elite is available in the iOS App Store for US$2.99. Some features like pilot weather data and tide charts require an in-app purchase of $9.99 or less.
